Printing machine



March 19, 1929. F. E. M coRDY PRINTING MACHINE Filed y 18, 1926 5Sheets-Sheet Ill-la I .Z'NVLNTa ymcma BY VM /7 7'0RNEYS F. E. M CORDYPRINTING MACHINE March 19, 1929.

Filed May 18, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet R 5 MW n N N 5 R W m I T & vfl J March19, 1929. F. E. M coRDY PRINTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1926 3Sheets-Sheet 5 flrro NCYS or (in) Patented Mar. 19, 1929.

nnirnn stares FRANK E. MACCORDY, OF FULTON, NEW YORK.

PRINTING MACHINE.

Application filed May 18,

This invention'relates to a printing machine oi' the heated die andplat-en type by which impressions of the'zdie may be transferred to thework upon the platen through the medium of a suitable transfer tape orribbon interposed between the die and the work. The main object is toprovide a comparatively light and easily portable machine of thischaracter to be used for impressing initialsof personalnames or otheridentification marks upon various articles of wearing apparel such asthe sweat bands of hats and also upon hand bags, book covers, and otherarticles to which the printing mechanism may be applied.

One of the specific objects is to provide a more convenient means forremoving, replacing and changing the type or dies than has heretoforebeen practised.

Another objectis to heat the dies by means of an electrically heatedcartridge supported in the machine in juxtaposed relation to the diesand capable of being easily removed and replaced when desired forinspection or repairs. 7

Another object is to flexibly connect the car tridge to a suitable plugwhich may be readily. inserted into or removed from any standard form oflamp socket. Y

Another object is to control the heating circuit through the medium ofan electric switch which may be closed at will for diverting the currentto the heater but is automaticaily'op'ened by the operation of theprinting dies'to their printing positions.

A further object is to provide simple means for feeding thetransfer'tape or ribbon in either direction across the platen and forfrictionally holding it in different positions of adjustment.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the machine will bebrought out in the following description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan of a printing machine embodyingthe various features of myinvention.

Figure 2 is a vertical'sectional View taken on line 22, Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on line I 3 3, Figure 1, except thatthe upper portion of the die operating lever is broken away.

Figure 41s an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken in the plane ofline sk t, Figure 1926. Serial No. 109,895.

3, below the heater and dies showing more particularly the manner ofsupporting and adjusting the transfer tape together with the underlyingportion of the bed and platen.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line 55, Figure3, showing more particularly the switch-operatingmeans.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view of the detached heater and itscontrolling switch.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of the switch and adjacent portion of theframe showing a portion of the pawl for opening the switch.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on line 88, Figure 7. i

Figures 95 and 11 are sectional views of the switch taken respectivelyin the planes of lines 99, 1010 and 1111, Figure 8.

As illustrated this machine comprises U- shaped frame -1 of cast metalor other suitable material having a base portion 2, an upright portion 3and a guide arm i, the base 2 being provided with a horizontal platen5'- while the guide arm 2 overhangs the platen in spaced relationthereto to form a clear open space at the front of the machine for thereception of the work, printing elements and heater, resently described.

The portion of the arm directly over the platen 5- is provided with avertical guide opening 6. for receiving and guiding a verticallymovableplunger 7 which is normally elevated or retracted to itsinoperative position by a flat retracting spring 8 but is adapted to bedepressed against the action of said spring by means of a hand lever -9and cam -10 thereon.

The arm 'lis provided in its upper side with a central forwardly andrearwardly extending recess 1l for receiving the upper end of theplunger spring -8- and cam 10.

The plunger 7- is provided with a keyway 12- for receiving a key -13- inthe adjacent side or" the arm 4 to hold the plunger against turningmovement, the upper end of said plunger being substantially flat andadapted to be engaged by the cam 10.

The spring 8 is interposed between the side walls of the recess -11 andhas its rear end secured by a screw l lto the upper portion of the frame-1 as shown in Figure 2 while its front end is engaged in a slot in therear side ofthe upper portion of the plunger 7 for normally holding theplunger in its uppermost position against the underside of the'cam 10. V

The lower end of the lever -9 having thev integral cam -10 is secured bya set screw ,16 to a rock shaft 17- which is join hereinafter described,see Figure 3.

Printing couple.

I The lower end of the plunger -7 below the am 4: is enlarged to form ahead 7 which extends laterally some distance beyond the outer side facesof the arm V land is ;provided with a substantially fiat lower face forreceiving and supporting a type or die holder l8 and a heater block 19.r z The heater block l9 is bolted or otherwise secured to therundersideof the head 'Z of the plunger mainly at the rear of the axis ofsaidiplunger and extends laterally the major part of the length of saidhead and is provided with a central lengthwise opening '-20'- forreceiving an electrically heated cartridge 21-' of any suitableconstruction.

This cartridge is removable and replacable'endwise from and within theopening and is connected by flexible cables v22' to a block 23 which maybe inser ed in any standard form of lamp socket for diverting theelectric currentto the heater through the medium of an electric switch-2%.

The type or die holder 18 is removably seated against the lower face ofthe head 7 and against-the front face of the heater block -l9 and 13held in operative osition b a aair of 'sn'in arms 25 I Figure 3.

The free ends of the spring arms 25 '1 form with the lower face of thehead 7- a pair of slots which are open at the front side to permit thedie holderl8 to be readily inserted into and removed from the slots asmay be necessary when changing t e ,or dles the salin fllll'lS -25 hemonb i a tensioned to frictionally hold the type ht -l8- against theunderside of the t-lu 1 a I 11'. mur r. e need 7 ant also against tieiiont ac of'the heater block Tl) when the type- I holder is in operativeposition. 7

Thistype holder is provided in its rear-side with. a recess'26 forreceiving a pl nrality of type or d1es127 which are held in operativeposition by clamping screws '-28 in opposite end walls of the recess-26, said recess being open at its rear side to allow the type 27- to bebrought into direct contact with the heater block l9..

A transfer tape or ribbon -11 issupported across the upper face of theplaten 5 upon the front ends of a pair of rearwardly extending arms -29and, has its opposite ends connectedto a pair of reels 30 which togetherwith the arms -29 are located at opposite sides of'the frame -1.

The rear ends of the arms 29 are secured to opposite ends of a crossshaft 81- having its intermediate portion journaled in the uprightportion s-Bof the frame 1-, the front ends of said arms +29 beingprovided with rearwardly diverging slots through which the tape -R- isthreaded for holding the front portion of the tape in a horizontal planedirectly over theplaten 5 and for holding the rearwardly extendingportions of the tape in horizontal planes for winding and unwinding'uponthe reels 3O These reels 3() are mounted upon the opposite ends ofacross shaft ,33 which is secured'by a set screw '3e in a transverseopening in the upright portion of the frame '1 andis provided with splitfriction washers 35- engaged with the inner end faces of the reels tofrictionally hold said. reels against undue rotary movement and therebyto keep thetape B- under more or less tension.

A pair of hand wheels '3(5- are loosely mounted upon the outer-ends ofthe shaft 33 and are connected by pins -3T to the adjacent reels wherebyeither reel ma be rotated in one direction or the other for windingthetape thereon While the other reel is free to rotate. to permit theunwinding'of the tape therefrom.

The outer endsof the shaft are provided with threaded sockets forreceiving screws -38 which hold the hand wheels -36 against endwisedisplacement from the shaft and also permit the hand, wheels and reelsto be adjusted endwise for varying the frictional resistance against thewashers 35 which abut against annular shoulders on the shaft formed byreducing the ends thereof on which thereels, 30 and hand wheels +36- aremounted. I

d H eater circuit control.

The electric switch 2 l is preferably of the rotary snap switch typeconnected in the heater circult and comprising a base portion 89, cap4:O and handle 'l which latter is securedto the rotary shaft 42-,carrying the usual contact member 4 2- for Contact with the usual switchterminals e439? on the base asthe shaft is retated.

v we

means The cap section 40 is provided with a suitable sight opening '43while :the shaft 42 is provided with a disk 44lupon which is printedsuccessively the words On and'Off for successive registration with thesight opening l3 to indicate the closed or open positions of the switch.

'A crank arm is secured to the protruding end of'the shaft 17 tonormally stand upwardly therefrom in the same direction as the handlever9 to be operated forwardly and rearwardly by said lever.

A pawl l6 is pivoted at 47' to the crank arm 45 to extend rearwardlytherefrom and has the lower face of its rear end movable inacircumferentially extending slot l8 in the cap l0- and provided withteeth 49 for engaging with a ratchet wheel on the shaft l 2 as the lever-9 is rocked rearwardly to its printing position. V

The rear end of the pawl et6 is normally held against the periphery ofthe ratchet wheel 50 by its own weight aided by a coiled spring 51around the pivotal pin t7- and is freely movable at will throughtheopening or slot 48 to permit removal of-the switch cap 40 whendesired. Y

The ratchet wheel .50 is provided with a pair of diametrically oppositeclub teeth 52- which; when the switch is in its open position will beout of a-linement with the teeth of the pawl 46 or in a plane nearlyparallel with said pawl so thatlthe teeth of the ratchet wheel betweenthe club teeth on the side of the shaft 42 adjacent the pawl will benormally in registration with the teeth of said pawl to be engagedthereby when the pawl is moved rearwardly by the printing operation ofthe hand lever 9 It is evident however, that if the lever 9' is operatedwhile the switch is open the rearward movement of the pawl against thenearest ratchet tooth may cause a slight angular movement of the shaft.t2 against the, action of the motor spring ?l of the switch but thisangular movement will be insufiicient to release the rotary switchmember to its closed position by reason of the fact that the nextsucceeding club tooth 52 willthen be brought intoengage'ment with andtrip the pawl from engagement with the first-named tooth, therebyallowing the movable switch member to return to its open position. v

That is, the switch is normally set in its off or open position with theclub teeth 52 out of alinement with the teeth 4:9- of thepawl 46 butwhen it is desired to use the machine for printing purposes the switchis turned one quarter of a revolution by means of its operating member41 thereby bringing one or'the' other of the club teeth 52 intoalinement with the teeth 19 of the pawl 46+ at which time the switchwill be closed to divert the current to the heater 12 Then, when theheater 20 and type -27- are heated to the required temperature the handlever 9 is rocked rearwardly and downwardly to force the heated type andribbon into engagement with the work upon the platen 5 for making thedesired impression upon saidwork.

During this printing operation the pawl 4t6 will have been forcedrearwardly into engagement with the alined club tooth 52 and one or moreof the succeedingteeth for rotating the switch another quarter turn orto itsopen position thereby cutting off the current to the heater 20.

It isnow evident that the switch is closed at will to divert the currentto the-heater and is opened automatically by the operation of theprinting mechanism thereby conserving the current and reducing theliability of overheating of the dies following each printing operation.

It is evident, however, that the operator may turn the switch on and offat will at any time through the medium of the operating member &1 andindependently of the pawl'a9 as may be necessary at times when theinterval of preparation of the work for printing thereon is greater thanthe time required for bringing the heater to the required temperature asindicated by a thermometer -i which is secured to the lower enlarged endof the plunger 7 adjacent the heating element as shown more clearly inFigure 3. l

The transfer tape R- is preferably of the gilded type in which a thinlayer or film of gold is applied to the face of the tape adjacent theplaten in such manner that when impressed against the work on the platenby the heated type 27 the gold will be instantly transferred from thetape to the work to form a permanent impression thereon.

The tape supporting arms 29 are movable vertically about the axis oftheir supporting shaft 31 and are adapted to be moved downwardly by theengagement of the type 27- with the intermediate portion of the tapeduring the printing operation aided by the weight of the arms thereof,the plunger 7 and parts carried thereby may be moved downwardly alimited distance relatively to the arms -2E) by reason of theflexibility of the intermediate portion of the tape 28 to assure themaking of a clean impression upon the work without contact-of the arms29-+ with the work.

The front ends of the arms extend upwardly across opposite ends of thehead 7 and are provided with inturned lugs -53 overhanging the.adjacentends of the head 7 so that when the plunger is re turnedupwardly by the retracting spring -8-' the arms 29 and front portion ofthe ribbon carried thereby will be automatically returned to theirstarting positions Operation.

The operation, previously described, is as follows: assuming that theprinting couple is in its elevated position and that the switch 24-' isopen, then the first operation is'to insert the plug 23' into a lampsocket after which the operating member 41 is turned to close the switch-24 for diverting the current to the heater -'-20.

The switch is allowed toremain closed un til the type27 are heated tothe required temperature as indicated by the thermometer A. The work isthen placed upon the platen 5 in proper position to receive theimpression' whereupon'the lever 9 is operated to depress the plunger andtype thereonfor lmpressing the underlyingportion of the tape -28 intoengagement with the work during which operation the pawl 4E6 will haveengaged and rotatedthe ratchet wheel 50 for opening the switch.

As soon as the printing operation is completed the cam lever 9- isreturned toits starting position thus permitting the spring '8 toreturnthe plunger 7 and parts [ing one oft-he printing elements towardand from the other, an electric heater for heating one of the printingelementsan electric switch controlling the current tothe heater, meansfor closing theswitch, and means actuated by the first-named means forshifting the switch,

2. In a printing machine of the character described, a work support, aprinting element, means for moving said element toward the support forprinting upon the work, electrical means for heating saidele nent, meansfor closing the switch, and means actuated by the first-namedmeans foropening the switch. 7 F V i 3. In a printing machine of the characterdescribed, a printing element, means for moving said element to itsprinting position, elec-' trical means for heating said-element, anelectric switch controlling the heating circuit,

a and operable at will to-close said circuit, and

means actuated by the first named means for opening the switch.

4:. In a printing'machine of the character with the tape and toward theplaten, means for heating the type in the holder, an electric switchcontrolling the heating circuit and operable at will to close thecircuit, and

means actuated by the first-namedmeans for Y opening the switch. a

6. In a printing machine of the character described, a platen forsupporting the Work, a plunger movable toward and from the platen, atype holder mounted on the plunger a. transfer tape between thetypeholder and platen, means for moving the plunger toward the platen,electric means carried by the plunger for heating the type in theholder, an electric switch controllingthe heating-circuit and operableat will for closing the circuit, and means actuated by the first-namedmeans for opening the switch to break the heating circuit. i 1

7. In a printing machine of the character described, 'a' work-supportingplaten, a

. plunger, means for moving the plunger toward theplaten, additional.means for retracting thef'plunger, a type-holder removable mounted onthe plunger, a transfer tape between the type-holder and platen, anelectric heater mounted on the plunger for heat ing the type, and meansactuated by the firstnamed means for breaking the heater circuit.

8. In a machine of. the characted described, a work-supporting platen, atype-holder movable toward and from the platen, means for moving'th'e.type-holder toward the platen, an

electric heater for heating the type, an electric switch for controllingthe, heater circuit, 7

means including a pawl and ratchet actuated by the first-named meansforfopening the switch; 7

9. In amachine of the character described, a work-supporting platen, atype-holder movable toward and from the platen, means for moving the.type holder toward the platen, electrical means for heating the type,and

means actuated by the first-named means for V I breaking theheatingcircuit,

10. In a machineof the character described, a work-supporting platen, atype. holder movable toward and from the platen, means for moving thetype holder toward the platen, anelectric heaterfor heating the type, anelectric switch operable at will for closing the heater circuit, andmeans actuated by, the first-named means for opening the switch to breakthe heater circuit; I

11. In a machine of the character described, a work-supporting platen, atype holder movable toward and from the platen, means for moving thetype holder toward the platen, an electric heater for heating the type,an electric switch operable at will for closing the heater circuit, andmeans including a pawl and ratchet actuated by the firstnamed means foropening the switch to break the heater circuit, said pawl and ratchethaving cooperative means for preventing the closing of the'switch by theoperation of the first-named means. 7

12. In a printing machine of the character described, a work-supportingplaten, a plunger movable toward and from the platen, a type-holdercarried by the plunger, an electric heater mounted on the plungeradjacent the type-holder for heating the type, a rock shaft, a handlever secured to the rock shaft and provided with a cam for operatingthe plunger toward the platen, a crank arm secured to the rock shaft, arotary electric switch operable at will for controlling the heatercircuit, and means actuated by the crank arm for operating the switch tobreak the circuit.

13. In a printing machine of the character described, a work-supportingplaten, a plunger movable toward and from the platen, a type-holdercarried by the plunger, an electric heater mounted on the plungeradjacent the type-holder for heating the type, a rock shaft, a handlever secured to the rock shaft and provided with a cam for operatingthe plunger toward the platen, a crank arm secured to the rock shaft, arotary electric switch operable at will for controlling the heatercircuit, a ratchet wheel rotatable with the rotating part of the switch,and a pawl pivoted to the crank arm for engaging said ratchet wheel andoperating the switch to open the circuit when the plunger is movedtoward the platen, said pawl and ratchet wheel being provided withcooperative means for preventing the closing of the switch when thelatter is opened.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of May1926.

FRANK E. M'ACooRDY.

